We have determined the ratios of total to selective extinction in the near-infrared bands ( J,H,K _ { S } ) toward the Galactic center from the observations of the region \mid l \mid \lesssim 2 \fdg 0 and 0 \fdg 5 \lesssim \mid b \mid \lesssim 1 \fdg 0 with the IRSF telescope and the SIRIUS camera .
Using the positions of red clump stars in color-magnitude diagrams as a tracer of the extinction and reddening , we determine the average of the ratios of total to selective extinction to be A _ { K _ { S } } / E _ { H - K _ { S } } = 1.44 \pm 0.01 , A _ { K _ { S } } / E _ { J - K _ { S } } = 0.494 \pm 0.006 , and A _ { H } / E _ { J - H } = 1.42 \pm 0.02 , which are significantly smaller than those obtained in previous studies .
From these ratios , we estimate that A _ { J } :A _ { H } :A _ { K _ { S } } = 1 : 0.573 \pm 0.009 : 0.331 \pm 0.004 and E _ { J - H } / E _ { H - K _ { S } } = 1.72 \pm 0.04 , and we find that the power law A _ { \lambda } \propto \lambda ^ { -1.99 \pm 0.02 } is a good approximation over these wavelengths .
Moreover , we find a small variation in A _ { K _ { S } } / E _ { H - K _ { S } } across our survey .
This suggests that the infrared extinction law changes from one line of sight to another , and the so-called “ universality ” does not necessarily hold in the infrared wavelengths .